Government publishes long-awaited planning framework for proposed Heathrow expansion on clean air day – but communities and campaigners warn of serious shortcomings

19th June, 2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Government publishes long-awaited planning framework for proposed Heathrow expansion on clean air day – but communities and campaigners warn of serious shortcomings

The UK Government has today opened its long-awaited consultation on an updated Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), originally published in 2018. The document – now called the Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement (HENPS) is the key policy framework that will guide decision-making on a planning application to build a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

A rushed consultation on a decision of national importance

AEF is deeply concerned that the public and affected communities will have only 10 weeks over the summer recess to respond to a lengthy and technically complex document of 136 pages, with supporting material comprising over 20 documents and more than 1000 pages of technical detail. A project of this scale, which would lock in decades of additional carbon emissions and expose communities to increased noise and air pollution, demands a consultation period that gives all stakeholders a genuine and meaningful opportunity to engage, and allows sufficient time for Parliamentary scrutiny factoring in that the House rises for recess on July 16th and doesn’t return until September. The Government should not use this consultation as cover for a process that limits the voice of communities, appearing instead to push through a major infrastructure decision for the sake of political expediency, regardless of its serious consequences.

A flawed process from the start

Despite repeated attempts by communities living under flight paths and environmental organisations to engage in the preparation of this draft, those efforts have been largely rebuffed. The new draft ANPS reflects this failure: the voices of those most affected have not been adequately heard.

Clear tests, not vague commitments

AEF believes the ANPS must include clear, quantifiable tests against which any planning application for a third runway can be assessed. Vague or aspirational language is not sufficient for a decision of this magnitude. As set out in AEF’s four tests briefing, any approval framework must establish robust, measurable criteria covering noise impacts, compatibility with carbon budgets, air quality obligations, and economic justification.

Without such tests, there is a serious risk that a future planning application will be waved through without meaningful scrutiny.

While the draft HENPS recognises the findings of the recently published noise survey that clearly demonstrated that people are significantly annoyed by aircraft noise at much lower levels than previously thought, the project assessment continues to benchmark likely noise impacts against existing criteria, which is over ten years old. 

Celeste Hick, Policy Manager, at AEF said:

“We are dismayed by the Government’s dogged determination to push through, at almost any cost, such an unpopular proposal which has the potential to rival HS2 for wasting money. Even the aviation industry is half-hearted in its support, yet the Government seems hell bent on rushing this consultation through with very little meaningful consultation with the very people who will pay the price – communities living under the flight paths and those whose homes will be destroyed or rendered uninhabitable. There’s a beautiful irony in the frantic rush to push this through: the government published this on Clean Air Day, even though we know the devastating impact expansion will have on the health of communities around the airport.”

ENDS

Contact: Tim Johnson tim@aef.org.uk +44 7710 381742 // Celeste Hicks celeste@aef.org.uk // +44 7957 915696

Notes to editors

• The Aviation Environment Federation (AEF) is the principal UK NGO campaigning on aviation’s impacts for people and the environment.
• The Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), now called the Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement (HENPS), sets the policy framework within which the Planning Inspectorate will assess any application for development consent for a third runway at Heathrow, as well as future airport expansions.
• AEF’s four tests briefing sets out the criteria AEF believes must be included in any robust assessment framework within the ANPS.